  Because of YOU, we reached our goal! Thank you for giving and supporting the New Moms and Farmers campaign this Giving Tuesday! You raised $10,804, and with our $10,000 match, you helped make the massive impact of $20,804!!! This money is going to equip single mothers in Rwanda with a sustainable career in sewing through our GIFTS Rwanda's Sewing Project. Being a single mother in Rwanda is especially difficult as job opportunities are few and many stigmas remain. But with your help, we will be offering them a safe and secure building as well as sewing machines, supplies, and training. The ripple effects of this moment will be generational and were made possible by YOU. Here are details regarding how the funds will be used:
We can now build these women a safe space to learn, teach, and grow their sewing business for countless groups of women to use moving forward. Our new graduates are excited for the opportunity to help mentor and train our next group of new moms who will be going through the sewing co-op training program in the new year!  Exciting Next Steps... We are not stopping with a one room building for the sewing co-op... Our long term goal for this building is to work up to having four rooms! There will be a room for the sewing co-op business and sewing trainings (that we now have the money to build!!), a room for our soap making project, a room for making bags using beads, a small room for stock, and a room for meetings as well as for giving talks to the community teaching them various things such as how to fight malnutrition and reproductive health with young girls and their mothers. Near this building will be a place reserved for farming activities as well as the chicken house we raised money for last Giving Tuesday! Coffee Time... But that's not all. GIFTS Rwanda is donating approximately $500 directly to everyone working so hard to produce our new coffee Rwanda Nyakarenzo! This is to cover the bags of coffee produced for those of you who donated $100 or more to the campaign (we had well over 20 households give over $100!). Your coffee was roasted on Friday December 2nd and is being packaged now. It will be shipped out to you this Friday December 9th. We would LOVE to hear your feedback on the coffee after you try it. Remember, this is a bag of whole bean coffee so if you are like me and do not have a coffee grinder you can find a reasonably priced one here. Board member Darla Bauer and I got the opportunity to try it last month and we are SOLD. It's a lighter roast that is delicate and bright almost like a tea. Darla could smell citrus lime notes and red currant and reported it is very smooth and pairs superbly with a buttery crisp and brown sugar cookie. We can't wait to hear what you think!  Holiday Gift Idea! Our coffee is now available for SALE! This coffee is considered a Single Origin and from a small farm in Rwanda custom roasted by Top of the Lake Coffee. Employees in Rwanda work on the farm, harvesting and washing the coffee beans. We have partnered with Nyakarenzo Coffee Washing Station/Rwacof (approximately 70% of their employees are women), whose focus is on improving the financial situation of the local farmers. This makes for a perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life while knowing your money is going to the incredible people of Rwanda. THANK YOU for your help. We appreciate YOU so much! 
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